Pearson training firm TQ to run three of Saudi Arabia’s new vocational training colleges

July 2, 2013, 07:41
, 07:41

TQ Education and Training, a Pearson business that provides outsourced training solutions, has been awarded a five-year contract to develop and operate three vocational colleges in Saudi Arabia, providing high quality vocational skills and qualifications for more than 8,000 students.

The contract, which makes TQ fully responsible for vocational training at the colleges in Mecca, Buraydah and Medina, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s Colleges of Excellence, the newly established body for public-private partnerships for technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia.

The colleges in Mecca and Buraydah are for male students and the Medina college is for female students. All three colleges will open from September 2013 and in total the Colleges of Excellence programme will see ten new technical training colleges set up across the Kingdom this year.

TQ will work closely with employers in Saudi Arabia to provide world-class vocational training and qualifications for young Saudis. The programme will be a fundamental step in improving employment prospects for young people in Saudi Arabia, equipping them to be sought-after employees so that they can lead stable and rewarding careers.

The new deal has been signed in Riyadh by TQ’s Executive Chairman Christopher Samler and His Excellency Dr Ali bin Nasser Al Ghafis, Vice Chairman of the Board of Colleges of Excellence.

Christopher Samler, Executive Chairman of TQ, said:

“Working together in partnership with the Colleges of Excellence, the local community, employers, parents and the students, TQ and Pearson will be focused on delivering positive outcomes for our students and improving people's lives through training. Our aim is to offer young Saudis education and training that helps them compete for jobs successfully in the local labour market. We are committed to making a difference to young people’s lives and futures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

“We are delighted that TQ is one of the key providers to deliver vocational training to young Saudis in this first phase of the Colleges of Excellence programme of vocational training and education reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. TQ, as part of Pearson, has a strong reputation in the Kingdom and we look forward to growing that relationship as we work together to open these new colleges to students in September.”

TQ is an established provider of vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia, delivering high-quality electrical, engineering and English language training to more than 1,500 students every year at three campuses of the Saudi Petroleum Services Polytechnic.

TQ also provides a wide range of technical and other vocational training to the UK's Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as well as numerous multinational companies in the oil and gas, rail, power generation and distribution industries.

Notes to editors

About TQ and Pearson

TQ Education and Training designs, develops and delivers outsourced learning and training solutions for public and private sector clients in the UK and internationally.

Every year we host over 430,000 training days to 30,000 students in establishments around the world, and this experience allows us to help our students to make a real difference in their workplace and to their lives.

TQ is part of Pearson, the world's leading learning company. Pearson provides educational materials, assessments, technologies and other services to teachers and students of all ages in more than 70 countries worldwide. TQ has access to the full range of Pearson's products, services and technologies and draws on them to help our learners all over the world.